Speak Out August 2020 DIGITAL EDITION

Branch News

Food for thought: ACU telehealth placements

Victoria

In response to COVID-19, Australian Catholic University (ACU) revised the 3rd year, semester one, speech pathology professional practice on-campus placement to be delivered entirely through telepractice. The placement unit utilises simulation pedagogy to develop intermediate level professional competencies. This article specifically looks at the experience with a dysphagia assessment case scenario. From a student’s perspective The case scenario gave all students some degree of anxiety. We had never performed a food and fluid trial, and this was going to be our first time, but online and on Zoom. Even though we knew our client was an actor, we still had concerns surrounding his ability to swallow, how safe it would be and what we should do in an emergency. We were asked to tell our client to put tape over his thyroid cartilage which was helpful to visualise his swallow more clearly; however we still experienced challenges through Zoom. Did he swallow once or twice? Does his voice sound wet? It would have been a better experience to see a food and fluid trial using VFSS; however this was not possible. This simulation has allowed us an opportunity to prepare for our offsite placement and we know we will have more confidence in our speech pathology skills when managing real clients with dysphagia. When attending placement via telehealth, we have gained valuable experience that we would not normally engage in when on placement. Despite circumstances surrounding COVID-19, we have had an opportunity to think about our clients in a different setting and learn how to engage with them through technology in a safe and effective manner. We have also gained confidence in our own skills and knowledge, reinforcing that as students, we know more than we give. From a lecturer’s perspective The clinical cases needed to be adapted to meet student learning outcomes. Queensland Health’s Telepractice Dysphagia Assessment eLearning program (https://ilearn.health.qld.gov. au/) provided a structure to enable students to conduct an adult clinical swallowing evaluation. Challenges included training clinical educators and simulated patients prior, timing, lack of access to a health assistant (given social distancing) and technology issues of poor quality sound, camera and connectivity. Despite challenges, the students remained engaged in the clinical swallowing evaluation and authenticity remained high. Conclusion: Telehealth is an appropriate alternative to face-to-face in the context of COVID-19. It is anticipated that face-to-face mode of delivery is superior when developing clinical competence, confidence and in meeting intended learning outcomes in student professional practice placement. Nicole Romei and Danielle Czapnik Nicole Romei is a 3rd year Speech Pathology student at ACU, Melbourne. Danielle Czapnik is a lecturer within the Bachelor of Speech Pathology at ACU, Melbourne.

VIC 2807 members as at July 2020

Nicole Romei

Danielle Czapnik

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Speak Out | August 2020